Fluting attachment for irons



March 29, 1949. c. KELLl-:Y 2,465,881

FLUTING ATTACHMENT FOR IRONS Filed NOV. 14, 1946 Patented Mar. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLUTING ATTACHMENT FOR IBONS Clara L. Kelley, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 14, 1946, Serial No. 709,717

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a fluting attachment for electric irons.

It is often desired to put ruflles or flutes in dresses or curtains.

In the past special fluting irons have been constructed for this purpose, which have been provided with cooperating uting elements between which a piece of material may be disposed. Such uting irons were heated' on a stove before using.

No such fluting irons, to my knowledge, have been provided with electric heating elements, due largely to the price. A uting iron would be used only occasionally by the ordinary housewife, and an electric iluting iron would be expected to carry a price considerably higher than the ordinary electric flatiron,

It is an object of my invention to provide a uting device comprising a pair of cooperating fluting elements which are adapted to be heated by an ordinary electric iiat iron.

A further object is to provide a luting device of improved light weight structure, and of inexpensive construction.

A still further object is to provide a iiuting device which can be used as an attachment for an ordinary electric atiron, and which can be used in connection with electric irons of varying sizes and shapes.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will become apparent as this description proceeds.

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a preferred embodiment of my invention, a portion of the upper fluting element being broken away;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of Fig. 1, but also showing an electric iron secured' to the fluting attachment, the dotted lines showing a changed position of the parts; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged View taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1, a portion of the upper fluting element being shown in displaced position to better show the construction thereof.

As indicated in Fig. 2, the reference numeral I indicates the luting attachment generally, and the reference numeral Il indicates an electric iron of a standard type. The iiuting attachment comprises an upper element I2 and a lower element I3, which are hinged together by a hinge pin I4. The upper element is formed of a flat sheet of metal I5 and a corrugated sheet of metal I6, which are welded to each other along the ridges of the corrugations as indicated' by the reference numeral I1. The flat sheet I5 is provided with a rearward extension I8 which has downwardly bent ears I3, forming a part of the hinge structure.

Similarly the lower element comprises a flat sheet 20 and a corrugated sheet 2| which are welded to each other as indicated by the reference numeral 22. The flat sheet 20 has a rearwardly extending portion 23 having upwardly bent ears 24. The hinge pin I4 passes through ears I9 and 24.

Both of the upper and lower elements I3 and I4 are pointed and conform generally to the coniiguration of the ordinary electric flatiron, except that they are somewhat wider. per surface of the sheet I5 is disposed a sheet of metal 25 which is shaped so as to form a recess to receive and grip the point of the iron I I. This sheet of metal is provided with flanges 26 which are welded to the flat sheet I5. Along the side marginal portions of the upper element I2 are provided two series of apertures 2l, one at each sid'e. The iron II is held in place on the upper element with its point projecting into the recess provided by the bent metal piece 25, by means of a coil spring 28, the ends of which terminate in hooks 2Q for engagement with one or the other of the apertures of each of the series 21. Thus, the iron is securely held in place with its heated surface in contact with the fiat sheet I5. The spring 28, and the selection of apertures provided permit electric flat irons of varying size and shape to be securely held in position.

In operation, after the iron is secured to the upper element, and has been suficently heated, the handle 30 of the iron is grasped and the iron is tilted upwardly and backwardly. Thus, the elements I2 and I3 are separated, the upper element being hingedly mounted on the lower element as pointed out above. A piece of fabric is then inserted between the elements and the iron permitted to close so that the parts are in operative position. The heat of the iron is transmitted to the corrugated sheets I6 and 2l, both by conduction through the welded joints I'I, and by radiation from the lower surface of the nat sheet I5 to the upper surface of the corrugated sheet I 6. It has been found that this arrangement provides the transmission of suicient heat to achieve the desired fluting. The parts need be maintained in their operating position only momentarily, and then the iron again raised and the fabric withdrawn. The dotted line position, as shown in Fig. 2, indicates the pivotal movement of the iron and the upper element I2 with respect to the lower element I3. The dotted line position is an extreme position, in which the iron may be raised in the event that both of the operators hands are occupied with arranging the fabric above the corrugations of the lower element I3. In other instances, when one hand is suicient to feed the fabric, the iron need be lifted less than thirty degrees.

It will be observed that the extensions I8 and 23 provide an arrangement by which the hinge pin is offset from the back edges of the corrugated strips I6 and 2I by a considerable distance. This arrangement reduces the angle through which the On the up- I iron and the upper element I2 need be lifted in order to utilize the full area of the corrugated sheets I2 and 2|.

Although only `apreierred embodiment of my invention haslbeen shown and described herein, it is obvious that various modifications and changes may be made in the construction shown Without departing from the spirit of my invention as dened in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fluting device for use with an electric flatiron comprising a pair of cooperating luting elements, each iiuting element comprising a flat piece of lsheet metal and a corrugated piece of sheet metal, the ridges of the corrugations of said corrugated piece of sheet metal being secured to said flat sheet of metal in heat transmitting relationship, and means for hingedly securing said fluting elements to each other so that the corrugations of one of said luting elements will t into the icorrugations of the other, as the two are moved into cooperating relationship.

2. A luting attachment for an electric iiatiron comprising a pair of cooperating luting elements, each uting element comprising a flat piece of sheet metal and a corrugated piece of sheet metal welded to each other along their contacting portions, said at sheet having a rearwardly extending portion with bent over ears, said cooperating fluting elements being arranged one s `above the other with the bent over ears of each in juxtaposition with the bent over ears of the other, and a hinge pin passing through said bent over ears.

3. A luting attachment for an electric flatiron comprising a pair of cooperating fluting elements hinged to each other, each iuting element comprising a flat piece of sheet metal and a corrugated piece of sheet metal secured to each other along the ridges of said corrugations, the front portion of the upper surface of the upper one of said fluting elements being provided with means to receive the point of an electric atiron, two series of apertures arranged along the side marginal portions ofsaid upperutingelement, and resilient binding means removably interlocking with one 'or the other of the apertures in each series in order to maintain an electric atiron in position on the upper surface of said upper -luting element, with the point of the iron received within said recess forming means.

4. A uting attachment for an electric fla'tiron comprising a pair of cooperating fiuting elements, each fluting element comprising a flat piece of sheet metal and a corrugated piece of sheet metal welded to each other along their contacting portions, said flat sheet having a rearwardly extending portion With bent over ears, said cooperating uting elements being arranged one above the other with the bent over ears-of each in juxtaposition with the bent over ears of the other, and a hinge pin passing through saidY bent over ears, the front portion of the upper surface of the upper one of said uting'elements being provided with means to receive the point of an electric atiron, an aperture provided along each side marsaid upper fluting element, with the point of the iron received within said recess forming means.

CLARA L. KELLE-Y.

REFERENCES CITED rIhe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Owen Apr. 20, l880- 

